Portable draft screen



E. D. MGCOMBIE PORTABLE DRAFT SCREEN Filed June 2l. 1929 Dec. 13, 1932v Er/a: mam

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1932 EARLE D. MCCOMBIE, 01 MAEQETTE, MICHIGAN PORTABLE DRAFT SCREEN Application led .Tune 21, 15l29.- Serial No. 372,726.

In dwellings having an open stairway leading to the second floor there is always a considerable draft that finds its way down thc stairway and which travels across the prin- 5 cipal living rooms of the house, thus making it quite uncomfortable and necessitating a large consumption of coal in order to maintain the dwelling in a somewhat comfortable condition during the winter months. To overcome this I `have provided a portable draft screen which forms the subject matter of this, my present invention. The screen is arranged in the hall at the top of the stairway, and is of a construction to close the bottom portion of the opening provided between the stairway and the hall and thereby serve as a baille for the cold air to prevent the same passing downwardly through the stairway and entering the living rooms of the dwelling, the said screen being swingably supported and, therefore, provides a gate for the passage of persons through the opening closed by the said screen.

My primary object is the provision of a portable draft screen for this purpose which is also reversible, that is, the same may be employed upon either side of the opening between the hall and the stairway and which screen comprises a weighted base having a post arising therefrom and to which post there is hingedly connected a second post that has loosely pivoted on its outer end a series of crossed slats or bars in the nature of a lazy-tongs system, the said lazy tongs system upon both of its faces having fabric facings, and the swingable post as well as the outer post and the lazy tong system having iXedly secured thereto yieldable flaps which Contact with the side walls provided by the opening, the fabric facings for the screen having their lower edges contacting with the floor surface of the hall, so that the said screen adords an effective baffle for preventing cold air from passing through the hallr and down the stairway.

For a full and comprehensive understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the drawing which accompanies and forms part ofthis application.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of my improvement, parts being broken away and parts in section. a

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the screen collapsed and the fabric facings therefor removed.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the-line 3 3 of Figure 1.

My improvement includes a weighted block l which is inthe nature` of a base member of the said improvement; The block, on its top, and in aline with one of its edge.s,vhas arranged thereon a post 2. The posthas its lower end formed with a bolt extension r3 that passes 'through a central opening in the base l, and the said bolt is engaged by a nut l that is received in a suitable pocket in the under face of the base. The post 2 is normally held from movement on the base but obviously by loosening the nut 4 the said post may be turned on the said base.`

From the top and bottom of the post 2 there are extended plates 5 and to these plates there are pivotcd, as at 6, other plates Z which are secured to the topand bottom edges of an inner and swingable post 8. Preferably the plates 7 have angle extensions which contact with the outer face of the swingable post 8 and these extensions, indicated by the numeral 9, are provided with elongated slotsl lO. In addition to this the post 8 is centrally formed on its said outer face with a lug extension lO. The numerals l1 designate cross slats. Two of these slats are provided with headed pivots l2that are received through the slots in the bracket members 9, while two of the end slats which are shorter than the remaining slats are pivotally secured to the lug 10. Gf course, the lapping slatsare pivotally `connected and the said slats are in the nature of lazy tongs.

The outer short slats of the lazy tongs system are pivotally secured to lugs or brackets 13 upon the outer post 14 of the improvement. Both sides or faces of the lazy tongs system have arranged thereon fabric facings or coverings 15, respectively which are secured to certain of the slats of the said system. The fabric facings 15 extend a suitable distance below the lazy tong system so that the edges thereof will Contact with the Hoor surface 16 between a hall and a stairway leading downwardly from the hall in a building.

The swingable post 8 and the outer post 14 of the lazy tong system have secured to one face thereof strips of rubber or like compressible material 17, respectively. These strips, of course, extend beyond the posts 8 and 14, and the said strips are designed to con tact with the opposite walls of a stairway in the hall. By a simple construction as above described it will be obvious that my portable draft screen may be adjusted so that the same can be arranged between various sized openings between a hall and a stairway. The fabric facings 15, as stated, contact with the floor surface 16 and the strips 17 contacting with the side walls provided by the opening effectively prevent draft passing through the screen. The device may be employed on either side of the opening in which instance it is necessary to partly unscrew the nut 4 so that the normally fixed post 2 may be turned on the base which, of course, permits of the base being arranged on the floor 16 at the side of the opening opposite that upon which it was first arranged. lVhen not required for use the device may be folded into a small compact bundle so that the same may be easily stored in a small space.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the construction and advantages of the invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art so that further description will not be required, but obviously I do not wish to be restricted to the precise details herein set forth and, therefore, hold myself entitled to make such changes therefrom as fairly fall within the scope of what I claim. Obviously, the pivotally supported draft .screen serves as a gate which may be readily opened or closed by persons passing through the hallway to the stairs or vice versa.

Having described the invention, I claim:

A portable draft screen comprising a base, a vertical post adjustably and detachably secured to the base, plates secured to the upper and lower ends of the posts and projecting laterally of one face thereof, plates pivoted to the first mentioned plates, a vertical member secured to the second mentioned plates and spaced from the post, a compressible draft preventing strip secured to the member and the lirst named plates to close the space between the member and post, lazy tong ele- 

